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Id definitly reccomend

Ive never really know what condensed milk was until recently when I saw a recipe for fudge needing it. Ive become a bit baking mad lately and due to low funds Im needing to bake a few presents this year as its all i can afford to do. My mum is a fudge fiend so i wanted to try it out to see if i could make a decent fudge rather than her present being my first attempt!Unfortunatly I lost the recipe but discovered on the can that they have a website with a bunch of recipes on including one for fudge so I did get to use it in the end!

PACKAGINGYou can also get this in a squeezy tube but I got the tin as it was better value and was the exact quanity I needed. The tin I got is the same as in the picture- the front of the tin has the nestle logo along with the Carnation brand. It has a picture of a dessert and the word condensed milk on it. On the back of the tin is a recipe for a dessert you can make with the milk, nutritional values, ingredients etc.

WHAT IS CONDENSED MILK AND WHAT CAN I USE IT INIts a thick syrupy milk. Its very sugary and sweet. You can find recipes that use it by visiting www.carnation.co.uk. You can make things such as fudge, chocolate cake, cookies, sticky toffee puddings and many more. The thing I like about the website is as well as a written version of the recipe there is also a video accompanying it. Ive always found a recipe easier to follow when i have a video i can follow, pause and rewind.Unopened it has quite a long shelf life but once opend it wont last long. This isnt a problem though if your using it with the recipes provided as in my experience at least they tend to use a whole can or whole squeezy tube.

PRICINGThe cans are currently going for £1.44 at tesco. They also do another brand of condensed milk called farmlea which is a little cheaper at £1.06 for the same sized tin, having not yet tried it I cant comment on whether the quality differs.

Id definitly reccomend this as there are so many recipes you could use it for. Not great for those on a diet though!And in case you were wondering the fudge came out great considering Im not the best cook (i have yet to master cookies) and within 2 days the entire batch was demolished by me with a little help from my son!

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A great-tasting and flexible tool for cooks.

Condensed Milk is a thick sweetened syrupy form of milk, designed to last while sealed. A staple of many recipes, it is also delicious over desserts in place of cream.

It is not cheap - between £1.50 and £2 for a can at the time of writing. However it is easily available at just about any supermarket or grocery store.

Usually this is bought in cans, with the logo and nutrition information on the side. The cans need to be opened with a can opener, and are not resealable. Even if you use a plastic cantop to seal it, the milk goes off very quickly once the tin is opened, surviving only a couple of days in the fridge. If you leave it out, it can start forming crystals and a skin overnight. If the can isn't opened however, it can last well over a year.

For me, I usually use this as a cooking ingredient. Anything left over goes on afters, so long term storage isn't a problem. There are a lot of recipes that use Condensed Milk, from biscuits to possets, and it has become quite a staple for many cooks. Other uses, which I have heard of but have not tried, include in coffee with rolls as a snack, in milkshakes and in making icecream. You can also use it is toffee and fudge recipes - and depending on which can you get there may be an easy fudge recipe on the side!

One downside is that it is very sweet and contains a lot of sugar (the ingredients are simply listed as Milk and Sugar), so has a very high calorie count: 325 calories per 100g. Because of the sugar content you do have to be a little careful if you are cooking with it, as it can get hot and stay hot for long periods.

Condensed Milk is also available in plastic squeezy bottles for ease of use (and storage), but I prefer the tins despite the inconvenience, because they are slightly cheaper and the bottles don't contain enough for some recipes so you are left buying multiples. The real trick with the can is getting the contents out without it trailing everywhere, since it is nearly the consistancy of syrup.

Several of my recipies use this for flavour, and it's something I tend to keep around since the cans keep for a long time, and are easily stored until you need them. This is one for any cook - or anyone with a sweet tooth!

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A versatile product

One item I always have in my cupboard is a tin of condensed milk, we rarely eat it as it is I mostly use it an ingredient for cooking. The brand I usually buy is Carnation, this is mainly because I can never actually see an own brand in my local Tesco.

Carnation Condensed milk is sold in a tin or a plastic bottle, I usually buy the tin as it works out slightly cheaper, £1.00 for a 397g tin. The front of the tin has the Nestle logo along with Carnation Condensed Milk, it also says "cook with". There is a picture of a plate of fudge (the recipe for this is on the back of the tin) along with the GDA's which are given per 50g. The back of the tin gives all the nutritional information in more detail for those brave enough to look, being very sweet its high in calories and sugar. The back of the tin also gives the ingredients and informs the customer that this product is not suitable for babies under 12months. All of this information is printed directly onto the tin and is quite hard to read.

On opening the tin the condensed milk has quite a thick poring consistency and is an off white colour, it has a lovely sweet smell. Condensed milk is incredibly sweet and has quite an unusual taste, its not milky or creamy in fact I find it hard to describe other than sweet!

As I mentioned we don't often use the condensed milk as it is although we have on occasion had it poured over fruit as a change from cream or ice cream. Condensed milk is one of my main ingredients for key lime pie, just add it to whipped cream with lime zest and juice and leave it to set in the fridge. This makes a really delicious dessert, the sharpness of the lime knocks back the intense sweetness from the condensed milk.

Carnation condensed milk also makes a great camel for banoffee pie, just heat it a sauce pan with butter and brown sugar and you get a gorgeous creamy caramel which can be poured over a hot pudding or left to set for a firmer caramel.

However you use it condensed milk is an excellent item to have in the cupboard. It has a long shelf life and is very versatile. In my opinion its worth the money and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. For recipes with carnation condensed milk go to www.carnation.co.uk.

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A versatile ingredient which can be used many things someone with a sweet tooth would appreciate

I have never before really bothered before to even find out what condensed milk. I thought it was used to put it in your tea, just like the same as evaporated milk. I'd always had a can of it, but had never before ventured to do some so extraordinary as to actually open it.

Then one day, I was watching television where Nigella Lawson was broadcasting how to make some chocolate pistachio fudge. I looked at the ingredient list, which was 1 can of condensed milk and 350g of chocolate, and realised that for once it my life I actually had the ingredients to make something from the television in my my own kitchen.

Well that was just crazy, so I got up and made some of this fudge once the show had finished.

And what I discovered was how many delicious things I could make with condensed milk. The fudge that I'd made on my first attempt was good, but it wasn't to die for. But then I went on to make banoffee pie, milkshakes and caramel shortbread.Whenever condensed milk is added to any of my recipes, I find it remarkable easy to cook whatever dish, dessert etc has taken my fancy, because the milk is almost always the main ingredient.

I should warn you before hand though. If whatever you're making is cooked in a pan, be sure not to overcook it, as it will become incredibly solid. My caramel shortbread was good, but it was also good at breaking your teeth.

I'm grateful to Nigella for showing me this staple ingredient for many desserts, but I've now also made the decision to switch to the light version.

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good price and value for good tasting product

I eat quite a lot of fruit, fresh and tinned and even frozen as they are nice and healthy but it can be quite boring just eating them sometimes and so I like to use a topping and this milk works perfectly for me.

It comes in a can and for only 59p for 410g it is very good value for money.

It has a paper wrapper over the can and it has the name clear on the front and it has been on the market for many years.

On opening the can, inside it is a thick creamy milk and it is a pale yellow colour and it pours beautifully over fruit.

It is manufactured by Nestle and it is a full cream evaporated milk, it can be used as an alternative to cream and it has half the fat content, which is very good.

It can be used with jellies or cakes or just with fruit and it has a nice smooth texture and the taste is very creamy and light.

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Love it, love it, love it!

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I found myself purchasing a tin of Nestle Condensed milk. This wasn't just for the heck of it either, this was for baking night! My friend and I, at the ripe old ages of 37 and 38, have decided to enter some home made delights in the local country show in September. We've got the programme and we are working through the W.I. recipes every Wednesday evening. Last night was a first for us both, making chocolate fudge.....and for that we needed condensed milk.

I had never considered what condensed milk was for. I had often been given evaporated milk on jelly as a child, but what was this??? Having done a little bit of research on good old google, I discovered it is actually cow's milk with the water taken out, so it condenses down. Sugar is added to sweeten and preserve it. Apparently it was a wartime staple as it could be watered down and used as milk. Although my tin has an expiry date of around 12 months from now, my research tells me it kind of lives forever. These days it is usually used for baking and making delicious but sinful lovelies like millionaires shortbread, banoffee pie and of course, fudge.

When I opened the tin the smell was just fantastic, it is so sweet and so creamy smelling. It's really, really thick and sticky, and slightly creamy in colour. I tried a bit on a teaspoon. Good job we needed it all for the fudge or I may have scoffed the whole tin.

This review isn't about fudge, but the fudge worked out just fine after much panic and stirring over a high heat waving a thermometer in the air. We will be going for round two next week with some better quality chocolate though. I didn't see an alternative to the Nestle condensed milk, so we will stick with that.

This stuff is wonderful. I love anything a bit old fashioned and this has all the right credentials. I like that it comes in a tin that can be recycled and that condensed milk is suitable for vegetarians. It's great that it has a bit of history too and has stood the test of time.

Now for the shocker.....50g gives you 163 calories, 27.7 g of sugar, and 4.1 g of fat!!!!!!! 50 g is about 2 tablespoons......Oh, dear. Never mind, hey It's delicious! I am sure I spotted a light version on the supermarket shelf, will check it out for next time.

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It's OK to ignore the calories once in a while!?

Up till a month ago I wouldn't have had a clue what condensed milk was all about or why you anybody would buy it. All that changed when I volunteered to arrange the favours for my brothers wedding later this year. I thought it would be pretty simple, bought sweets in bags, tea light candles, alcohol miniatures, you know the sorts of things I mean. A nice gesture from me but pretty easy to sort. Well all I can say is I am glad I am pretty much the colour of a bottle of milk already, this way nobody could see the colour drain from my face when my sister in law to be said she liked the idea of giving out home made sweets to all their guests!

I love my brothers fiancée to bits and she is absolutely perfect for my little brother and has given him direction and goals in life that I think he would have never found without her. The problem is she is absolutely perfect at everything, brilliant job, top marks in the year at uni, good at sports, cooking and baking she is also a really nice person. I could just picture the perfect, beautiful wedding with everyone commenting how nice it was that she let a small child make her wedding favours.

This is where my search began, trawling the internet for recipes for home made sweets. I went through several recipes that involved chocolates that melted one hour after they came out of the fridge and created a complete mess to home made fudge, which set as toffee that will break your teeth (not ideal for a dentists wedding) as I couldn't get the temperature quite right.

After several disasters in my kitchen I discovered a very simple recipe which called for condensed milk as the main ingredient. As this meant to be a review of condensed milk ill talk about that first, then tell you all about my simple home made fudge.

For some reason the can comes in a tin containing 397g of Nestle sweetened condensed milk, I have no idea why they don't make this 400g but I'm sure there must be some reason behind it. The ingredients are whole milk, skimmed milk and sugar. The nutritional information is pretty scary, per 50mls it contains 163 calories and 4.1 grams of fat so its probably best not to have the can for a drink!

On opening the can you can see that the milk is a white/cream colour which has a thick consistency. If you pour it off a spoon there will be a coating left behind on the spoon. The taste is exactly what you would expect from sugar and milk combined, absolutely sickly sweet. I had one table spoon full in the interest of writing this review and there is no way I could eat more and I do have a sweet tooth. Once opened you have to keep the milk in the fridge and use it within 3 days. The current price per can is £1.37 in Tesco which does seem pretty pricey and as yet I have not found it on special offer.

The can I bought is not the same as the one in the dooyoo picture, the whole can is red ant there is a picture of caramel shortbread on it instead of the pie that appears on this picture. There is actually a very simple recipe on the can to make the caramel shortbread, I gave this a go and it really is easy and tastes so much better than shop bought as you can use a good thick layer of the caramel when you make it yourself.

As much as I would love to have made the caramel shortbread for the wedding favours I feel that they might make a bit of a mess if they are left out of the fridge for too long.

This is the recipe I found to make for my brothers wedding favours.

Ingredients.

200g bar plain milk or white chocolate½ x 397g can sweetened condensed milk50g chopped nuts, which ever you like the taste of (or you can leave out) pecans or hazelnuts are really nice 50g dried fruit, sultanas and cranberries are really nice in it, again you can leave the fruit out if you prefer100g icing sugar, sifted1 tsp vanilla extractCaster sugar, to sprinkle on the top.

Method.

1.Line a square tin measuring about 20cm x 20cm with greaseproof paper. 2.Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Add the condensed milk and place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl is not in contact with the water. I found I had to continuously stir to prevent the chocolate burning on the bottom of the bowl. 3.Heat gently until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the fruit and nuts if you are using them. Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and stir until evenly combined. This mixture will become like a toffee consistency and will be difficult to stir when it is ready. 4.Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the surface with the back of the spoon. Chill for at least 2 hours until the fudge is firm. 5.Lift out of the tin and remove the paper. Dust the surface lightly with the sugar. Using a sharp knife cut the fudge into small 1cm squares.

The whole process took me about 15 minutes and is really easy to do. I'm not too sure how long they last as they always get eaten within a couple of days. I do normally keep them in the fridge but my partner took some to work in an airtight container and he tells me they didn't become sticky or melt throughout the day.

I am really happy with how these sweets have turned out and will be making up small bags with seven pieces of fudge in each one for the 120 wedding guests! I have to admit I was nervous on giving them to my brother and his partner to try but they loved them and were more than happy for them to be given out as wedding favours.

We have decided on three flavours

Dark chocolate with hazelnuts, orange peel and orange essence instead of vanilla.Milk chocolate with pecans and raisins.White chocolate with almonds and cranberries

Everyone will get a combination of the 3 flavours. Having never before in my 28 years bought a can of condensed milk I can say for sure that I am a convert and they will be getting much more business from me in the future. I already plan to make bags up for people at Christmas time.

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Recommended

Nestle make the only condensed milk I even know of. I'm surprised that the supermarkets don't make their own brand make of this stuff, but I've never found one. I probably wouldn't like it as much as I do Nestle even if they did though!

This is quite hard on the wallet at £1.40 for a small tin. It also comes in a squeezy tube in one of two sizes but they're even worst value for money unfortunately. The plus side to getting one of the tubes though is that they keep in the fridge for up to three weeks. If you get a tin, you have to use it all in three days. That's not so hard though...

Condensed milk is basically sticky, thick, sugared milk that taste like the stickiest cream you can imagine. You can use it for lots of different things including drizzled on fruit salad, in baking (especially for the lime key pie they show the recipe for on the side of the tin) and this is brilliant for making home made ice cream with too. Some recipes ask you to heat up milk and boil it off with sugar then leave it to chill in the fridge. It speeds things right up by just getting a tin of this out of the fridge though.

This stuff is expensive like I said, but for use in things like ice cream and special home baking recipies, I think it's worth it. Go easy on it though because as I said before, it's basically just thickened milk and sugar (lots and lots of sugar).

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Good for baking cakes, cookies and desserts.

Nestle Condensed milk, those three words have me heading off to find my can opener. Interestingly enough both Evaporated and condensed milk were rationed during wartime. Though milk was fairly plentiful a good number of years ago, refrigerators were not and tinned milk was more often than not used in hot drinks. The contents of the can were diluted to make the milk go further and of course the tinned milk didn`t turn.

So what does Carnation condensed milk look like?Open the can and you are faced with a thick gooey creamy coloured milk, even before you dip a finger in the can to taste it you know that it is extremely sweet, the smell is a dead giveaway.The condensed milk is so thick that it doesn`t pour, you need to dip a spoon into the can and physically remove the thick mixture.Carnation condensed milk has a taste all of its own, it tastes very sweet, rich and creamy. If you are intending using it for a recipe then make sure to open the can at the very last moment, the cream is hard to resist and I always find my teaspoon wandering back and forth to the rim of the tin.

How do they make it?Condensed milk is simply cows milk that has had all of the water extracted from it, then sugar has been added which acts as a preservative. If the can remains unopened then the contents will last for years.Recipes that include condensed milk rarely include any sugar, the condensed milk acts as the sugar substitute.

If you are looking at recipes that contain Carnation milk then just double check that it is the sweet condensed milk that is included, the evaporated milk is much thinner and far less sweet so the two types of milk are completely different and are not interchangeable.

There are many recipes that use condensed milk, macaroons, millionaires shortbread, cookies, toffee, fudge, ice creams, cheesecakes and if you add a few spoonfuls to your rice pudding its heavenly.If you take a look at all of the recipes that are available on the Internet then you will be able to make a different pudding every day for months to come!

A 397g can of Nestles condensed milk costs around £1.45, as expected it is very high in calories. 50g contains 163 calories.It is fine for vegetarians but it must never be given to babies.

Because condensed milk can be sticky and difficult to handle Nestle have developed a Carnation Squeezy, this makes life much easier if you are trying to use smaller amounts. Buying the squeezy bottle is no more expensive than buying a can.

Nestle have also produced a Light condensed milk, a 405g can costs about £1.05. It is lower in fat but it still contains 139 calories per 50g.

A completely new idea is the Nestle Caramel cream at £1.89 for a 397g can.I use caramellised condensed milk but I have always made it myself.The can of milk is placed into a saucepan of boiling water and then left in the water for anything above an hour. This process turns the condensed milk into a lovely golden colour, making it perfect for sweets and puddings.But I can fully understand why Nestle have made this product, when you boil canned sugar you have to be extra careful, if the water level runs low in the saucepan then the tin is likely to explode, so it could be very dangerous.

All in all Nestle condensed milk is a fabulous product and in all honesty I would be happy just to have a few spoonfuls out of the can!By the way, did I mention it makes a brilliant Banofee pie?